The Pavia Mafia

ESPN College Game Day is at Vanderbilt University today for the game between #10 Vanderbilt and #15 Missouri.  

Let that sink in for a minute.

Which part?  Vanderbilt ranked #10?  Game Day in Nashville?  All of it, I guess.  Oh, man, where to begin?

What a ride it's been for JP, Joe, and so many other Vanderbilt fans last season and, especially this season, as part of the Pavia Mafia.  Former Dodger, Cooper Allen, got up at 4:30 a.m. today and drove to campus.  He's on the front row for College Game Day.  JP and Joe left the house around 5:30 a.m. or so and from video's they're sending me, appear to be up pretty close, too.  There's a huge crowd there already, which is amazing.

Vanderbilt's college football resurgence has been a bit surreal.  To see them ranked in the top 10 is almost unfathomable.  For so many long suffering fans, though, it's beyond overdue and so rewarding.  I was one of those fans, once upon a time, so in many ways I can relate to how happy they are this morning.  As I've written before, before my mom could stop me, I stormed the field in 1982 to tear down the goal posts when Vanderbilt beat Tennessee, 28-21.  Thanks to my mom, I was a die hard Vanderbilt fan as a boy and, really, until I went to college. 

And, thanks to my mom, JP and Joe are diehard Vanderbilt fans to this day.  Although I've never told them this, it makes me feel closer to my mom when I see them pulling for the 'Dores the way she did.  Football, basketball, and baseball.  They're black and gold through and through, just like I was at their age.  

As I well know, being a Vanderbilt fan is not an easy road.  It's not unlike being a Chicago Cubs fan.  A whole lot of heartache.  Still, as I've told the boys, that's what makes a season like this one for Vanderbilt fans so special.  The losses.  The tough times.  The disappointments.  It all leads to this season and a day like today which, for a sports fan, is a memory that endures.  

How did this happen?  It's a lot of things, really.  NIL.  The transfer portal.  A head coach, Clark Lea, with local ties (MBA and Vanderbilt graduate).  And, of course, quarterback Diego Pavia, a transfer from New Mexico State two seasons ago.  

To say Diego Pavia has reinvigorated the Vanderbilt football program is an understatement.  He is the Vanderbilt football program under Clark Lea.   Last season, he engineered an upset over #1 Alabama at Dudley Field.  Last week, he led Vanderbilt to a win over #10 ranked LSU, also at Dudley field.  The team is an extension of him.  Tough.  Hard-nosed.  No quit.  Chip on their shoulders.  A little bit arrogant in an underdog kind of way.  All of it.  

Diego Pavia's No. 2 Jersey should be retired at the first home game next season.  That's how big of an impact he has had on Vanderbilt football.

As a former Vanderbilt fan, I know there's an Indian summer aspect to all of this.  It's not sustainable.  Diego Pavia will be out of eligibility after this season.  A bigger school will throw a bunch of money at Clark Lea and hire him away from Vanderbilt.  By next season, things will return to normal.  Still, I'm so glad the boys have this season and this morning to experience what it's like when your team is on top.

Anchor down, indeed.  

That's what Jude and I will be doing this afternoon when we take Joe to the Vanderbilt - Missouri game.  

Anchor down.